"I t was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness ... it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."
When Charles Dickens wrote those words in 1859, he wasn't talking about football. It's safe to say he wasn't talking about draft picks, monster contracts or the Houston Texans either, and he definitely wasn't talking about Matt Schaub. Still, when the Texans finalized a lucrative trade for Virginia's record-setting former quarterback last month, the move sounded more like a chapter from "Tale of Two Cities" than just another blockbuster deal at the sport's highest level.
Let me back up for a minute. For those of you who haven't read the unabridged version of "A Tale of Two Schaubs" in your English class yet, the plot goes something like this. "Wahoo Schaub" is an 18-year-old recruit fresh out of Pennsylvania's West Chester East High School. He's a highly-regarded quarterback, but Virginia coach George Welsh has him riding the bench behind veteran Dan Ellis and fellow freshman Bryson Spinner.
NFL Schaub on the other hand, is living the good life. It's 2007, and the man who served as Michael Vick's longtime backup has finally gotten his big break. In a few short months, he'll be running out of the tunnel as the starting quarterback for a fledgling NFL franchise eager to place its hopes in a certain former Cavalier. Even though he only started two games and completed 27 passes in 2006, the hype is so big surrounding NFL Schaub that Texans owner Bob McNair is willing to bet $48 million that the team's future lies in his golden arm.
Back at U.Va., Wahoo Schaub is just another college student. As a first year in Bonnycastle dorm, he's friendly, quiet and extremely hard-working. His roommate Ryan is the rambunctious one in on the hall, and Wahoo Schaub seems perfectly happy to be the shy one along for the ride. Although he's constantly away at football practice, the redshirt freshman quarterback is no academic slouch and (much to his hallmates' surprise) ends up tutoring a few of them through a tough statistics course. Usually a pretty humble guy, Wahoo Schaub is teased mercilessly for a giant poster-sized picture of himself hanging on the wall in his room (he eventually bends under the pressure and takes it down).
Flash forward to March, 2007, and NFL Schaub is on the golf course with Texans coach Gary Kubiak, negotiating a hefty pay raise that will make his $2.3 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons look puny. Although he's wiping the floor with Kubiak (NFL Schaub carries a 7-handicap) the coach seems convinced that his new signal caller will be a perfect fit in Houston.
"Matt brings confidence and leadership," Kubiak will later tell the Houston Chronicle. "He's got an air about him, like, 'I'm ready to lead a team. I want to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league.'"
Although Wahoo Schaub carries that same air, it takes a while for anybody to notice. In 2001, the sophomore is locked in a vicious battle with Bryson Spinner for the starting spot after Dan Ellis' departure. New coach Al Groh seems to want to test both men, giving each one serious playing time and intensifying the debate about who should get the nod come game time.
After being given the starting job on opening day, Wahoo Schaub struggles mightily, and Spinner is quickly given the reins for the next few games. This back-and-forth continues, with Spinner taking the first snaps against Penn State and Wahoo Schaub coming in for relief. After a brilliant reserve performance against Maryland, however, Groh finally sees a spark he's looking for and gives Wahoo Schaub the reins for good.
Back in Houston, NFL Schaub is playing catch and making friends with Andre Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl receiver who will become his main target come September. This is quite a departure from the quarterback's last job playing second fiddle to one of the most marketable players in the league today (not to mention a former Hokie). In Houston, NFL Schaub will be the main man for a change -- no doubt about it.
By the time Wahoo Schaub leaves Charlottesville, he will have piled up a school-record 716 completions, 7,502 passing yards and 56 touchdown passes as one of the greatest Cavalier quarterbacks ever. NFL Schaub's future is less certain, but it's obvious that people still admire the same quiet work ethic that brought him success at Virginia. The only difference? Pretty soon, kids all over Texas will have posters of Schaub on their walls (and probably won't get teased for it).
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